1) Being quick to change situations or not always sticking to things isn’t necessarily a bad quality. Sometimes you need to change situations, and recognizing that quickly can be an asset. The key is moderation, and to determine if you’re making a right decision soon, or if you’re simply giving up too easily.
2) If you have problems getting along with people, or are unable to bond with people, the problem may be with them. Only a rare combination of people are “bondable,” and it takes a desire from BOTH sides, so a true bonding is rare. Most of the bonded people you see may very well be false.
3) Believe in the best in people, and they’ll prove you right. Believe in the worst in people, and they will also prove you right.
4) Walking around with a smile, or even just a pleasant expression, will cause you to be treated better and helped more than wearing a blank or unhappy expression.
5) Appreciate what you have! Stepping out of your comfort zone may help you grow as a person, but you may have to take a few steps back in order to eventually take steps forward. Always appreciate what you have while you have it, because those “steps back” can be a bitch.
6) If you’re picky about who you associate with, you’ll offend and anger some people who don’t measure up. Their hostility only validates their unworthiness.
7) A simple life truly is a better life. If people wish to add pressure and stress to your life, and you don’t need it, reject it and send it back to them.
8) Everyone is putting on a front for different people. This is natural. If someone does something that angers or offends you, or you to them, it is likely just a reaction to a fear of getting hurt. It’s almost always a misunderstanding that requires a simple solution, so don’t let it fester. Deal with it at the point of pain. Don’t worry about seeming weak or like a whiner, because everyone is the same way.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
final observations of Korea
(I posted this on my myspace blog when I first arrived, I am copying it here)
1) Every male in his 20's here looks like the missing Asian member of the Hives
2) Being drunk in public is not only accepted, its almost expected. Soju costs about $1 and it'll do you for the night. Good times.
3) When I came to Korea before, there were some people who spoke some English (in Seoul). In this town, NOBODY speaks English.
4) The temperature is about the same as in SLC right now, but it feels about 20 degrees colder. It's COLD!!!! (yet it doesn't snow here much.. weird)
5) Korean service is way better than American service. They'll bend over backwards to help you, and everyone is very polite, yet they don't work for tips. In fact, you really don't tip anyone.
6) Everyone lives in apartment buildings, and everything is packed together very tight. It's cool because you don't need a car at all, there's a 7-11 type store every 15 steps, hundreds of restaurants, and lots of activity. However, driving and parking are a nightmare, and trash is everywhere. I definately think high-density neighborhoods are much more interesting than the big-box store, strip mall, sea of parking lots, cookie-cutter house ones I'm used to. Maybe just learn from some of the problems here to make it ideal.
7) Paper towels and antibactaerial soap are both more expensive than contact solution.. ??
8) The group of us newbies have gone out on our own a few times to try new food- every time it's been quite an adventure, to say the least. We have no idea what we're doing, or what we're eating. Last night we had chicken throats or something. But at least they were shiskabobbed.
9)Koreans cannot walk straight. If you are walking on a path, in a straight line, and a Korean is walking on the other side of the path, coming from the opposite direction, they will inexplicedly drift into your path of travel.
10)There is a channel that shows video games. As in, the game itself gets recorded and put on tv.
11) Everything here is excessively packaged. I bought a bag of Chips Ahoy (something like them) and each cookie was individually wrapped. I also found out that hot dogs are individually wrapped, I discovered that AFTER grilling some.
12) I still have never seen a Korean wear sunglasses.
13) They spit everywhere here, and very loudly
14) You see groups of girls in public, groups of guys, and couples, but you NEVER see a mixed group of Koreans.
1) Every male in his 20's here looks like the missing Asian member of the Hives
2) Being drunk in public is not only accepted, its almost expected. Soju costs about $1 and it'll do you for the night. Good times.
3) When I came to Korea before, there were some people who spoke some English (in Seoul). In this town, NOBODY speaks English.
4) The temperature is about the same as in SLC right now, but it feels about 20 degrees colder. It's COLD!!!! (yet it doesn't snow here much.. weird)
5) Korean service is way better than American service. They'll bend over backwards to help you, and everyone is very polite, yet they don't work for tips. In fact, you really don't tip anyone.
6) Everyone lives in apartment buildings, and everything is packed together very tight. It's cool because you don't need a car at all, there's a 7-11 type store every 15 steps, hundreds of restaurants, and lots of activity. However, driving and parking are a nightmare, and trash is everywhere. I definately think high-density neighborhoods are much more interesting than the big-box store, strip mall, sea of parking lots, cookie-cutter house ones I'm used to. Maybe just learn from some of the problems here to make it ideal.
7) Paper towels and antibactaerial soap are both more expensive than contact solution.. ??
8) The group of us newbies have gone out on our own a few times to try new food- every time it's been quite an adventure, to say the least. We have no idea what we're doing, or what we're eating. Last night we had chicken throats or something. But at least they were shiskabobbed.
9)Koreans cannot walk straight. If you are walking on a path, in a straight line, and a Korean is walking on the other side of the path, coming from the opposite direction, they will inexplicedly drift into your path of travel.
10)There is a channel that shows video games. As in, the game itself gets recorded and put on tv.
11) Everything here is excessively packaged. I bought a bag of Chips Ahoy (something like them) and each cookie was individually wrapped. I also found out that hot dogs are individually wrapped, I discovered that AFTER grilling some.
12) I still have never seen a Korean wear sunglasses.
13) They spit everywhere here, and very loudly
14) You see groups of girls in public, groups of guys, and couples, but you NEVER see a mixed group of Koreans.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
trip to North Korea
Last weekend I travelled to North Korea, a trip that cost me my job and my apartment (see earlier post), but was worth it anyways. What an interesting and bizarre place. The place we went to was a mountain called Geumgansan, a mountain right next to the ocean. The mountain was fun, the scenery was great, but the best part of the trip was the drive to and from the DMZ to the village. Here is where you can see normal North Korean life.
The drive starts to get interesting after you pass South Korean customs and enter the DMZ. The road is next to the beach, a beach completely surrounded by several layers of thick, barbed-wire fences. When the light posts changed from blue to green, we knew we had crossed the border into North Korean territory. The South Korean soldier was smiling and waving at us, and the North Korean soldier was as still as a mannequin. A North Korean guard in a post was fast asleep, a picture I was dying to take, but picture taking from the bus is banned there. By the way, North Koreans look different from South Koreans. They’re darker and have narrower faces. They’re the same race, it shows how a little isolation can have such an effect.
We entered North Korean customs, which is not in a building but a tent. It smelled like pee. It seemingly took forever to get through immigration, as they inspect American’s passports closer than anyone else’s. We were also issued name tags with our picture that we were required to wear AT ALL TIMES. As I made it through customs, I said goodbye in Korean as I noticed the soldiers’ “Great Leader” pins.
Here is where the drive to the village starts. As I said, picture taking from the bus is forbidden, and for good reason. It really is as bad as you’ve heard. The peasants were working the fields, using ox-powered equipment instead of machines. It’s hard to tell if their villages and houses are occupied or vacant. They’re typically ugly, Soviet-looking drab concrete monolith buildings. They’re all gray, and covered in some kind of black substance because they’ve never been hosed down. Most had numerous broken windows in them. A truly depressing sight. Weirdest of all were the rows of tract houses; not Asian or Korean architecture, but Phoenix or Las Vegas-looking dwellings (only they were concrete gray with gray roof singles, and very small). They all looked exactly the same. Again, I really wish I had some pictures..
The village we stayed in is really just for show. It’s like a compound, in that foreigners can’t leave, and North Koreans can’t enter (most of the staff that works there are Chinese). The hotels are at least 4-star, and there are South Korean-owned restaurants and convenience stores. The village feels more like any other resort in South Korea instead of North Korea.
There is one area in the village, however, where you can sneak a peek at where the North Koreans live. There is a road to a communist monument and Kim family mural you can walk along. There is a green fence on both sides. On this road there is a crossing where the local villagers can cross to one side of the village to the other (as the tourist road bisects it). There are North Korean soldiers on both ends keeping watch. It is interesting to watch the locals cross this road, it seems like they are required to wear nice dress clothes in order to cross the street. A little bit of propaganda to put on a good face to the tourists. They also walk in a bit of a march, I wonder why..
After you pass the locals’ crossing, you come to a monument. I don’t really know what the monument was for, and I don’t really care. The draw is that you can walk up to the monument and look down upon the village. This place was as distraught and awful as any living condition I’d seen in my life. The building looked like it was literally crumbling, as in giant sections of the walls were missing. I don’t know if it was a school or what, but children were out playing on what looked like a 50 year old playground. There was no grass, only dirt. This building, like all the others, was dirty and had broken windows. At this point, I noticed a North Korean soldier waving his red flag at us. There’s nothing like having a North Korean soldier acknowledge you in this way to put a little fear into you. We quickly got out of there and walked up to the giant mural of father and son Kim.
Again, the scenery and hiking were great, but I won’t talk about it because its not much different than Seoraksan or any other South Korean park I’ve been to. The greatest part was seeing a culture and a place I never thought I’d see. This is what made the trip worth my job (a terrible, horrible job anyways). This is what I came to Korea for, after all, to travel and have an adventure. I now want to go back to the DPRK to see Pyongyang. There’s also another trip you can take to a city that’s not for show, where you can really see how they live. More reasons to return to Korea!!
EDIT: shortly after my trip, another tour visited this area, where a South Korean tourist was shot and killed by North Korean soldiers. Apparently she went around a fence and ended up restricted territory. All tours to this area were immediately suspended. A couple months after that, the DPRK decided to permanently disallow all tours to North Korea from South Korea. So you can't make this trip anymore- just makes what I had to endure so much more worth it, because if I hadn't have gone when I did, I would have never had another chance.
Monday, June 16, 2008
I had the weirdest day of my life, the day BEFORE I went to North Korea..
WOW
I knew my trip to North Korea wouldn't go over well with the bosses. This is the culmination of weeks of the school director fucking with me. She's either lying to my face about things, or calling me a retard because I'm not interesting in creating art projects for 5 year olds and passing it off as their own. As I mentioned earlier, it was a trip that I felt could get me fired (I was pretty sure I was going to be fired anyways for the stupid art shit, but this event was going to be the excuse). They decided to make us come in that Saturday for parent-teacher conferences. Two weeks before, they announced this in a staff meeting. I was kinda looking forward to these conferences, but they were to be held on a Saturday (regular day off) with only 2 weeks notice. Well, I had already booked my trip to North Korea a couple months ago. Here's the thing: going to North Korea is tricky. They only allow a few tours from the south per year, so you have to book early, and pay at the time, to get a spot. They're also not very lenient with refunding your money if you need to cancel. My trip took place completely on my regular days off- Friday night until Sunday night. I should be okay, right? No, these pesky parent teacher conferences that they SPRUNG upon me. Check this: when they announced the conferences, they didn't give a firm commitment in regards to the date. They said they were planning on having them the 14th, but they might have to do some on the 21st, they would let us know later. So the next day, I went to them and told them of my dilemma. Their response? "It's too late, we're doing them on the 14th. Everyone's already been called, and all the plans have been made. It's too late to change it. Will you give us the name and phone number for your tour group?"
"Why?"
"We want to do what's best for you."
Me (thinking): What the hell does that mean, you want to do what's best for me? You want to cancel my trip! You just said there was no way to change the conferences, so what reason could you possibly have to call them? No way am I giving you that info!
Furthermore, I couldn't help but think it was straight-up bullshit that this event is suddenly set in diamond-strong stone, when 24 hours earlier they weren't sure what date it would be. Was this the truth, or were they fucking with me? trying to break me down? They kept insisting I draw the bad students' art for them, and pass it off as their own, and I kept refusing- is that why they were doing this? In the meeting, they said they would know for sure which date it would be by next week, but 24 hours later, they suddenly now know for sure? So I guess since they knew for sure, the official announcement would be given that day, right? Umm, no- try a week and a half later. We were given official notice on the 9th, 5 days before the conferences, and almost a week after I was told it was all set.
I decided to go on the trip anyways. I had grown to hate the school anyways, with its Jonestown environment, it's exhausting schedule, and indentured servant treatment. I didn't care much if they fired me over this (although I was fully expecting to receive a 30 day notice of termination, as required by law- more on that later, and I could feel they wanted me gone anyways). So I waited til after payday (since they can access your bank account, and they have before) so I could clean out my bank account and send it to the US. Then, on Friday, I handed them a note saying I didn't think it was fair how they treated me (I had been harrassed 2 more times for the tour operator info, told I was stupid, and then being written up and put on "probation" for not giving them the info) and I was going on my trip anyways. I quickly got out of there and hurried home to avoid a confrontation.
I took too long. As I was leaving my apartment to go to the bus station, my boss rang the doorbell. Rang it 4 times, actually. I was hoping he would just go away, when I had an "oh shit" moment- he was opening the door with his own keys. I threw my ipod on the bed (more on that later), and opened the door, but keeping the safety latch on. I said "what are you doing?" he said "what are YOU doing? Don't you know this is my apartment! Let me in!" He then started trying to barge in.. I shut the door and told him I was going to call the police. He said "please, go ahead and call them!" So I did. Did I mention that I don't know my address and really don't know how to explain to someone who barely speaks English how to get here? (they don't really have real addresses here.. Korea..) I was wondering too why he wanted me to call the police, I figured he had all the advantages knowing Korean, and it was a sometimes shady country anyways. So I ditched that plan and decided to just leave. I opened the door, left it wide open, and left. I told him "it's all yours," and started to leave. This is when he grabbed me and wouldn't let me go. He started shouting all sorts of cuss words, and saying "don't you know you owe me! You owe me for airfare, for the apartment, for EVERYTHING!" I said "no, I'm not leaving for good, I'm coming back. I'm not quitting."
"No, because you are fired right now! You broke the contract! Read it!"
"I have read it, you have to give me 30 days notice of termination."
"No, you broke the contract! read it right now!" (like I have a spare copy lying around)
After a few minutes of this banter, I broke free for a second. I made it outside, where he grabbed me again. Now we were in full-on scuffle mode, screaming at each other, causing a scene. A crowd had gathered to watch the show. He yelled, "you mother fucking piece of shit!"
(for English not being his first language, he sure knew all the profane words)
"fuck you, bitch!"
"Oh, so you really hate Korea!"
"I love Korea, I hate you!"
At this point I got him off me, then gave him a good shove for an extra head start, and ran like hell. He followed me... I ran quickly to the busiest street, he was right behind me. I saw a chicken guy on a scooter, I narrowly missed being hit by him. It was like a scene from a movie. I made it to the street, and decided to run right in the middle of it to attract as much attention as possible. He chased me for 2 or 3 blocks before he finally gave up. You have to understand, he had the look of murder in his eyes.. never seen it from anyone in my life before. I walked the next 30 minutes to the bus terminal, constantly looking over my shoulder to see if he was coming to run me over. Then I had 25 angst-ridden minutes at the station to wait for the bus.
So I went on the trip, I'll talk about that later. Before I caught the bus, I had sent a couple of panicky emails out. As a word of advice, if you're going to send panicky emails, don't do it right before you're about to spend the weekend in the only country in the world that bans the internet and cell phones.. sorry Mom...
When I got back, I got on the internet in the bus terminal and found out that they boxed up all my things and taken them away. It's almost everything I own. I am left with 2 shirts, 3 pairs of socks, 1 pair of shoes, one pair of pants, one pair of contacts, my glasses, and my camera. This is what I have to live on. Everything is gone. Fortunately, I decided to leave my briefcase of important documents, as well as my computer, at a friend's apartment (it was well known that our bosses would frequently visit our apartments when we weren't there, for some odd reason. I didn't want them snooping through my stuff and taking either of those 2 things). But still- jobless, homeless, and virtually clothes less in a foreign country- not good times.
Oh and by the way, when I was at the bus terminal (at 4 in the morning) guess who was there... my boss. He was picking up the 2 new teachers, who had incidentally been on the same bus as me from Seoul. It was just the 4 of us in a long, empty hallway. I don't know how, but I don't think he saw me. If he did, it didn't matter much because I quickly sneeked away and got out of there. I wasn't sure if I had been followed, so when I checked into my love motel, I really couldn't sleep much. EDIT: I found out later that my boss did have some Korean thug following me.
This is what I'm left with: the forementioned items, about $400, my passport (whew), but no home, no job, few options of people to crash with (don't feel safe staying with any co-workers). I worked 2 weeks of June without getting paid, plus I should have received a month's severance for being terminated without notice. I'm talking to an attorney tomorrow, signing over power of attorney to them, because I am getting on a flight Wednesday and getting the hell out of here! This is one of the most stressful times of my life, but I'm angry, which means I'll fight, and that'll keep me going.. thanks to everyone who's helped and offered help. I'll be alright...
PS- why the HELL did I throw my ipod on the bed? That's the only thing out of that apartment I really wish I had.
PPS- a copy of this blog got around the office, and I guess since I mentioned that I rode the bus with the 2 new teachers (who lasted less than a week before they both bolted), that I had somehow "gotten" to them...hahaha... I wish I had that power; and if I had known who they were when they boarded, I certainly would have tried that, but the truth is I was sitting near the front and they both went to the back and I didn't say a word to either of them.
I knew my trip to North Korea wouldn't go over well with the bosses. This is the culmination of weeks of the school director fucking with me. She's either lying to my face about things, or calling me a retard because I'm not interesting in creating art projects for 5 year olds and passing it off as their own. As I mentioned earlier, it was a trip that I felt could get me fired (I was pretty sure I was going to be fired anyways for the stupid art shit, but this event was going to be the excuse). They decided to make us come in that Saturday for parent-teacher conferences. Two weeks before, they announced this in a staff meeting. I was kinda looking forward to these conferences, but they were to be held on a Saturday (regular day off) with only 2 weeks notice. Well, I had already booked my trip to North Korea a couple months ago. Here's the thing: going to North Korea is tricky. They only allow a few tours from the south per year, so you have to book early, and pay at the time, to get a spot. They're also not very lenient with refunding your money if you need to cancel. My trip took place completely on my regular days off- Friday night until Sunday night. I should be okay, right? No, these pesky parent teacher conferences that they SPRUNG upon me. Check this: when they announced the conferences, they didn't give a firm commitment in regards to the date. They said they were planning on having them the 14th, but they might have to do some on the 21st, they would let us know later. So the next day, I went to them and told them of my dilemma. Their response? "It's too late, we're doing them on the 14th. Everyone's already been called, and all the plans have been made. It's too late to change it. Will you give us the name and phone number for your tour group?"
"Why?"
"We want to do what's best for you."
Me (thinking): What the hell does that mean, you want to do what's best for me? You want to cancel my trip! You just said there was no way to change the conferences, so what reason could you possibly have to call them? No way am I giving you that info!
Furthermore, I couldn't help but think it was straight-up bullshit that this event is suddenly set in diamond-strong stone, when 24 hours earlier they weren't sure what date it would be. Was this the truth, or were they fucking with me? trying to break me down? They kept insisting I draw the bad students' art for them, and pass it off as their own, and I kept refusing- is that why they were doing this? In the meeting, they said they would know for sure which date it would be by next week, but 24 hours later, they suddenly now know for sure? So I guess since they knew for sure, the official announcement would be given that day, right? Umm, no- try a week and a half later. We were given official notice on the 9th, 5 days before the conferences, and almost a week after I was told it was all set.
I decided to go on the trip anyways. I had grown to hate the school anyways, with its Jonestown environment, it's exhausting schedule, and indentured servant treatment. I didn't care much if they fired me over this (although I was fully expecting to receive a 30 day notice of termination, as required by law- more on that later, and I could feel they wanted me gone anyways). So I waited til after payday (since they can access your bank account, and they have before) so I could clean out my bank account and send it to the US. Then, on Friday, I handed them a note saying I didn't think it was fair how they treated me (I had been harrassed 2 more times for the tour operator info, told I was stupid, and then being written up and put on "probation" for not giving them the info) and I was going on my trip anyways. I quickly got out of there and hurried home to avoid a confrontation.
I took too long. As I was leaving my apartment to go to the bus station, my boss rang the doorbell. Rang it 4 times, actually. I was hoping he would just go away, when I had an "oh shit" moment- he was opening the door with his own keys. I threw my ipod on the bed (more on that later), and opened the door, but keeping the safety latch on. I said "what are you doing?" he said "what are YOU doing? Don't you know this is my apartment! Let me in!" He then started trying to barge in.. I shut the door and told him I was going to call the police. He said "please, go ahead and call them!" So I did. Did I mention that I don't know my address and really don't know how to explain to someone who barely speaks English how to get here? (they don't really have real addresses here.. Korea..) I was wondering too why he wanted me to call the police, I figured he had all the advantages knowing Korean, and it was a sometimes shady country anyways. So I ditched that plan and decided to just leave. I opened the door, left it wide open, and left. I told him "it's all yours," and started to leave. This is when he grabbed me and wouldn't let me go. He started shouting all sorts of cuss words, and saying "don't you know you owe me! You owe me for airfare, for the apartment, for EVERYTHING!" I said "no, I'm not leaving for good, I'm coming back. I'm not quitting."
"No, because you are fired right now! You broke the contract! Read it!"
"I have read it, you have to give me 30 days notice of termination."
"No, you broke the contract! read it right now!" (like I have a spare copy lying around)
After a few minutes of this banter, I broke free for a second. I made it outside, where he grabbed me again. Now we were in full-on scuffle mode, screaming at each other, causing a scene. A crowd had gathered to watch the show. He yelled, "you mother fucking piece of shit!"
(for English not being his first language, he sure knew all the profane words)
"fuck you, bitch!"
"Oh, so you really hate Korea!"
"I love Korea, I hate you!"
At this point I got him off me, then gave him a good shove for an extra head start, and ran like hell. He followed me... I ran quickly to the busiest street, he was right behind me. I saw a chicken guy on a scooter, I narrowly missed being hit by him. It was like a scene from a movie. I made it to the street, and decided to run right in the middle of it to attract as much attention as possible. He chased me for 2 or 3 blocks before he finally gave up. You have to understand, he had the look of murder in his eyes.. never seen it from anyone in my life before. I walked the next 30 minutes to the bus terminal, constantly looking over my shoulder to see if he was coming to run me over. Then I had 25 angst-ridden minutes at the station to wait for the bus.
So I went on the trip, I'll talk about that later. Before I caught the bus, I had sent a couple of panicky emails out. As a word of advice, if you're going to send panicky emails, don't do it right before you're about to spend the weekend in the only country in the world that bans the internet and cell phones.. sorry Mom...
When I got back, I got on the internet in the bus terminal and found out that they boxed up all my things and taken them away. It's almost everything I own. I am left with 2 shirts, 3 pairs of socks, 1 pair of shoes, one pair of pants, one pair of contacts, my glasses, and my camera. This is what I have to live on. Everything is gone. Fortunately, I decided to leave my briefcase of important documents, as well as my computer, at a friend's apartment (it was well known that our bosses would frequently visit our apartments when we weren't there, for some odd reason. I didn't want them snooping through my stuff and taking either of those 2 things). But still- jobless, homeless, and virtually clothes less in a foreign country- not good times.
Oh and by the way, when I was at the bus terminal (at 4 in the morning) guess who was there... my boss. He was picking up the 2 new teachers, who had incidentally been on the same bus as me from Seoul. It was just the 4 of us in a long, empty hallway. I don't know how, but I don't think he saw me. If he did, it didn't matter much because I quickly sneeked away and got out of there. I wasn't sure if I had been followed, so when I checked into my love motel, I really couldn't sleep much. EDIT: I found out later that my boss did have some Korean thug following me.
This is what I'm left with: the forementioned items, about $400, my passport (whew), but no home, no job, few options of people to crash with (don't feel safe staying with any co-workers). I worked 2 weeks of June without getting paid, plus I should have received a month's severance for being terminated without notice. I'm talking to an attorney tomorrow, signing over power of attorney to them, because I am getting on a flight Wednesday and getting the hell out of here! This is one of the most stressful times of my life, but I'm angry, which means I'll fight, and that'll keep me going.. thanks to everyone who's helped and offered help. I'll be alright...
PS- why the HELL did I throw my ipod on the bed? That's the only thing out of that apartment I really wish I had.
PPS- a copy of this blog got around the office, and I guess since I mentioned that I rode the bus with the 2 new teachers (who lasted less than a week before they both bolted), that I had somehow "gotten" to them...hahaha... I wish I had that power; and if I had known who they were when they boarded, I certainly would have tried that, but the truth is I was sitting near the front and they both went to the back and I didn't say a word to either of them.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
what do you say?
Funny kindergarten kid story:
I asked Ryan (Huggy Bear) in my 6 year old class what you say when you're meeting someone for the first time.
"Do you want my body?"
I asked Ryan (Huggy Bear) in my 6 year old class what you say when you're meeting someone for the first time.
"Do you want my body?"
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Why is there a ferry here?
After finally making it to Chungju after my bus ordeal, I went with a group on a ferry ride/caving trip. The first half of the trip involved a 2 1/2 half ferry ride- on a reservoir. Yep, a reservoir. Only in Korea! When the ferry takes off, it looks like its going to travel 100 feet and run into the other side... the reservoir is long, though, so it is an actual journey.
Then came the caving trip. It's a regular cave, similar to other caves I've seen. Only difference is that there is no tour guide, and they apparently don't care about their caves as you can touch and handle the stalagmites all you want. Also, there is a souvenir shop in the middle of the cave- another "only in Korea" thing.
This weekend involved 10 different bus rides and almost 16 hours of bus riding. A little overkill- but it looks like my time in SoKo is short so I want to cram in as much as possible!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Where am I???
I'm stuck in Cheongju. I was here and I asked for a bus ticket to Chungju, which is where I need to be tomorrow. They thought I said Jeonju, and gave me a ticket there, and said bali, bali (hurry). So I ran out there, not looking at the ticket, and the bus was just taking off. So I went back and got my money back, when they said that was the last bus for the night. So I got a schedule for the morning buses from them and found a motel here. Now settled in my motel and looking at my info, I NOW realize that it was a bus to Jeonju I missed, and not Chungju, and there are in fact buses still going to Chungju. It's too late since I have this room, but it's a good thing I missed that bus, or I'd be a couple hours away in the wrong town. It's going to be okay, I have to meet the group in Chungju tommorrow at 930, and I can get a bus at 720 here and make it. That would have been my 4th bus ride today, for a total of 8 1/2 hours riding, So I guess it's not so bad. It just means I have to wake up at the butt crack of dawn instead of "sleeping in" til 8 or so.. sigh... Cheongju, Chungju, Jeonju, Gwangju.... USE DIFFERENT SOUNDING NAMES, KOREA!!!
On a related note, I'm going to "Gyeongju" next week for temple stay.
Friday, May 30, 2008
what the f^&k am I doing here?
Is a question I ask myself almost daily. It has neither positive or negative connotation.
It's 1:15 in the morning, and I really should go to bed. I have a big day tommorrow, I believe 5-6 different bus rides will be involved- all to see a giant buddha statue and then stay in a podunk Korean town to meet people to go caving tommorrow. Thats the life of an explorer in a place without a car...
I've been here almost 4 months, and my adventures and stories are already numerous. There's my kindergarten class, who I gave them their English names based off Fresh Prince and Cosby Show characters.. the daily pseudo-molestation by 6-7 year old children, the Korean Bubba Gump looking guy at the gym who stands over me and STARES at what the "meeguk" is doing, the bizarre phenomenom of a people who cannot walk in a straight line, or even decide what side of the path people should walk on, (and in Busan, the constant ped-ped collisions), the other American co-workers who are all running or hiding from something, and who are generally a bat-shit crazy bunch, the boss who brought a couple of indentured servants with her from Thailand, the fact that I could get fired for not finishing the kid's art work for them (it must be perfect, and even if its obviously not done by the child, it doesn't matter), the fact that my English has gotten WORSE since taking this job, the ritual of kids sticking two fingers in your butt as a sign of affection, parents who request you let their child sleep in your class, constant stares and giggles from Koreans, an unimaginable hospitality shown to you when you show an interest in their country, the possibility I may get fired for taking a trip to North Korea in 2 weeks, women cleaning the mens restroom (they don't close them), wide open windows and doors wide open to said restrooms, a decision to spend my summer break in....Mongolia, the most gawd-awful commercials ever, the decision of the bosses to put all the "difficult" parents' children in one class, and giving them to yours truly, a cell phone with impossibly small buttons, an apartment that collect dust like Angelina Jolie collects exotic babies, hiking up a trail only to find random exercise equipment at the top, the late night free-for-all on the roads, a garbage dump that I must step over to leave my building, the best thing about Korea-love motels, the wireles connecton I can only get by putting my computer on my microwave in my "kitchen closet," the ajumma armies, women hiking or working out in high heels, the blood-curling multi-syllabalic Korean whine, some learning experiences, some growing, some regressing, the taste of dog .. but I'll get to all that later. Time for bed.
It's 1:15 in the morning, and I really should go to bed. I have a big day tommorrow, I believe 5-6 different bus rides will be involved- all to see a giant buddha statue and then stay in a podunk Korean town to meet people to go caving tommorrow. Thats the life of an explorer in a place without a car...
I've been here almost 4 months, and my adventures and stories are already numerous. There's my kindergarten class, who I gave them their English names based off Fresh Prince and Cosby Show characters.. the daily pseudo-molestation by 6-7 year old children, the Korean Bubba Gump looking guy at the gym who stands over me and STARES at what the "meeguk" is doing, the bizarre phenomenom of a people who cannot walk in a straight line, or even decide what side of the path people should walk on, (and in Busan, the constant ped-ped collisions), the other American co-workers who are all running or hiding from something, and who are generally a bat-shit crazy bunch, the boss who brought a couple of indentured servants with her from Thailand, the fact that I could get fired for not finishing the kid's art work for them (it must be perfect, and even if its obviously not done by the child, it doesn't matter), the fact that my English has gotten WORSE since taking this job, the ritual of kids sticking two fingers in your butt as a sign of affection, parents who request you let their child sleep in your class, constant stares and giggles from Koreans, an unimaginable hospitality shown to you when you show an interest in their country, the possibility I may get fired for taking a trip to North Korea in 2 weeks, women cleaning the mens restroom (they don't close them), wide open windows and doors wide open to said restrooms, a decision to spend my summer break in....Mongolia, the most gawd-awful commercials ever, the decision of the bosses to put all the "difficult" parents' children in one class, and giving them to yours truly, a cell phone with impossibly small buttons, an apartment that collect dust like Angelina Jolie collects exotic babies, hiking up a trail only to find random exercise equipment at the top, the late night free-for-all on the roads, a garbage dump that I must step over to leave my building, the best thing about Korea-love motels, the wireles connecton I can only get by putting my computer on my microwave in my "kitchen closet," the ajumma armies, women hiking or working out in high heels, the blood-curling multi-syllabalic Korean whine, some learning experiences, some growing, some regressing, the taste of dog .. but I'll get to all that later. Time for bed.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
parting of the sea
This weekend brought a trip to the island of Jindo to see a strange phenomenom: the Jindo Sea Road. This is the point where the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan (or East Sea, as Koreans call it..lol) meet. The tide pulls the two seas in opposite directions. The sea is shallow there, so a few times a year, the parting tide actually physically separates the two seas by 10-20 feet. This parting stretches from the shoreline to a nearby island, creating a "sea road." One of the times this happens, the road is wide enough that people can walk to the island and back. This wasn't one of those times; we walked about 1/4 of the way to the island, wading through broken spots in the road, before the sea road started to be reclaimed by the sea.
This has been the coolest thing I've seen in Korea so far. We got to the spot before the tide, so we got to see it form slowly over several hours. Jindo also has a unique red liquor, which I bought a bottle of. It's very good. I also had my first experience with some drunk adjoshi (old guy) rubbing my arm hair in disgust (which makes me wonder, if you're disgusted by it, WHY ARE YOU RUBBING IT?). Apparently this is common in Korea. Maybe so, but it's creepy and I'm shaving them from now on.
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{--before shots/after shots--}
Sunday, March 30, 2008
bamboo forest
With my trip last week to Mokpo, and a trip yesterday to Wolchulsan (a mountain with an insane suspension bridge), I now consider myself an expert at Korean travel. Bill and Roxanne (the 3rd teacher who arrived with us) ventured to a town called Damyang (45 minutes away) to see a bamboo forest. I felt like such an expert showing them the bus terminal, how to buy tickets, how to find your bus, etc.. lol
The bamboo forest was awesome. I'd never seen a bamboo forest before. Being a Sunday (Korean unofficial sightseeing day), it was jam packed full of people. It was great, though: a drum show, Korean vendor food, and bamboo wine and tea (when I got home, I tried them both. The bamboo tea has virtually no taste, but the bamboo wine is very good. Might have to go back and get more).
All in all, a bamboo forest, 2 Buddhist temples, a giant Buddha statue, a tunnel of trees, a riverwalk, good times.
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